Saturday, 22 July 2017

cocktail of memories

Mats were everywhere when I was a kid. Besides the major Matt Mason camping out in my bedroom there were other mats all over the place.

The ones that stick in my mind the most are place mats particularly some star shaped ones.They were made of something hard like wood and multi-coloured. The colours alternated so one star arm was red and the other blue. They were held together by thick cotton I think so they were actually quite floppy. In fact they sound like a jelly flip flip when you threw them onto a table!

I also recall coasters being scattered around my parent's home. Plastic ones for glasses and cups but mostly glasses. There was a lot of drinking going on when I look back and I mean of the alcoholic sort. I don't know if this was universal in the Sixties but my parents, who both fought in WW2, loved a tipple. In fact my Dad had his own bar made and installed in what was known as the telly room. He would often stand behind his bar and serve me a canada dry ginger ale, which was stacked in bottles to mix with his beloved Bells whisky.

On that bar were a plastic ice bucket, a viking figure bottle opener set, decorative Bells bottles and a stack of coasters. These were small round plastic white saucers with a picture of a cocktail in the middle where the glass stood; the famous cocktails of the day like Harvey Warbanger, Manhattan, Screwdriver and so on.

I still can't decide about all the drinking, whether it was normal or not or whether having a bar in the TV room was. I decided to decide years ago that that it was a feature of the decade, of a generation who fought in a huge war and came out the other side and had a few drinks.

Sadly my folks are no longer with us. Ironically they survived serving in World War Two only to die young three decades later of heart related illnesses. I can't help thinking that booze, as they themselves called it, was a contributing factor.

Its odd when you start writing. I set out to talk about place mats and coasters in my Parent's house but inevitably my Parents turn up as well. The paraphernalia of drink and indeed of smoking were littered around our home. It seemed perfectly normal at the time especially to me, a small kid like you obsessed with my own stuff like Thunderbirds, dinosaurs and monsters.

6 comments:

My parents sound like they were the same generation as yours, my Dad fought in WW2 and sadly passed away this year (aged 90). My mum went a few years before that. Both did drink regularly but never to excess. Neither smoked, even though it was common, both gave up 10 years before I was born (my Dad reckoned it would have been just as useful to roll up 5pound notes and set fire to them)! Odd isn't it how we are different, I sometimes drink wine but never touch beer or spirits which were my parents' beverages of choice.

Sorry to hear about your folks Kevin. They were very disciplined to give up smoking a decade before you arrived. That took some planning! I never buy wine and drink a cold beer when I get the chance! My parents drank spirits like Whisky, Bacardi, Sherry and mixes like Cherry B and Snowballs. Oh and there was Warninks Advocaat on the go too, the basis of many a home-made snowball. I don't recall much wine being drunk back then in our house. And then of course there was home-brew, which was everywhere including our shed! Wonder of home-brewing has vanished?

Lovely written recollections of our parents generation, Woodsy. Although not big drinkers, both my parents were very heavy smokers... Park Drive being the smoke of choice. I'm sure it was a cultural fad which most people did back then. I've never smoked, and don't like or drink spirits, although I do look forward to that cold beer and a bottle of wine at the weekend... ah its the weekend now... time for that beer :)

Thanks Tone. Yep, smoking was rife back then. I remember Park Drive with its red lettering on a white packet. For the life of me I can't think what fags were around in my parent's house although I can see packets like Navy Cut?, Capstan and Woodbine and Lambert and Butler smoking up my mind. There were ash trays in every room in every shape and size. Huge orange glass bowls, small square plates with orbs of coloured glass covering the surface and most interesting of all, the stand-up chrome metal ash-trays which could be carried around with a metal handle. One of them could be knocked over I'm sure like a weeble! Hope the beer is nice and cold!